Hanam Misa Rowing Stadium braised pollock, spicy medium: Appa Jjim

Appa Jjim 60 Wolho-ro, Hanam-si, Gyeonggi-do Hours: 11:00–21:50 Break time 15:00–15:30 Last order 20:50 Parking available, takeout available

Why we chose Appa Jjim for braised pollock in Hanam Misa

Appa Jjim is a braised pollock (codari jjim) specialist tucked in an alley across from Misa Sports Complex in Hanam. Braised pollock is one of my parents' favorite dishes — I used to whine 'ugh, no' whenever they suggested it, but somewhere along the way, maybe as I got older, it started tasting good to me,,?

It's a bit of a hassle to make at home, so it's one of those dishes we only get out or take out occasionally, and I'd heard there was a place in Hanam that does it really well, so we visited. Appa Jjim, located in the alley across from Misa Sports Complex.

We said 'let's go eat braised pollock in Hanam' and then a business card for Appa Jjim suddenly turned up from Mom's wallet?! Turns out Mom had already been here with a group haha. Appa Jjim, a braised pollock spot in Hanam with a pretty spacious parking lot too.

Weekday evening at Appa Jjim: is there a wait?

Appa Jjim has a ₩15,000 lunch set of braised pollock plus fragrant pot rice, so people line up at lunchtime, and I heard there's a wait even on weekends, so we came for dinner after work on a weekday instead. I always thought of braised pollock as 'adult food,' but there were plenty of people who looked to be in their twenties at Appa Jjim too. A Hanam braised pollock spot that's won over the twenty-something palate too!

I was really curious about the mackban-stone braised monkfish, but since we came this time to refuel my parents' braised-pollock cravings, we decided to save the monkfish for next time,,

What a family of four ordered at Appa Jjim

• Dried radish greens braised pollock, medium
• Crispy seafood pancake
• Fragrant pot rice x2
• Fried rice x2

They run all kinds of review programs — Google reviews, Instagram reviews, Naver receipt reviews — so definitely get the review service! I was going to get the fried shrimp too, but the portions were bigger than I expected and I got way too full, so I gave up on it.

Side dishes and the refillable cold seaweed soup

The side dishes are cabbage salad, unseasoned bean sprouts, raw seaweed, young cabbage kimchi(?), braised soybeans, and cold seaweed soup. Every single side dish was delicious, and the cold seaweed soup was genuinely amazing. My dad is a cold-seaweed-soup fanatic, so he refilled it and drank it up, and my mom, who initially said she didn't want it because it's cold, ended up trying a sip and having two bowls haha.

How we picked the spice level and the medium size

You can choose a spice level when ordering the braised pollock at Appa Jjim: mild, spicy, or extra spicy. I wanted extra spicy, but since I didn't know how strong it would be and my mom and brother don't handle spicy food well, we went with spicy! Since there were four of us, my parents said we'd need the large size, and I was about to order large, but my brother mentioned the seafood pancake, so we went with medium instead — and thank goodness, because if we'd gotten the large, we would have been in trouble.

One great thing about Appa Jjim in Hanam! When the food comes out, the staff debone the fish for you like this. Braised pollock is already fairly easy to eat off the bone, but a lot of people still skip fish dishes because deboning is a hassle — here, they skillfully remove the big bones for you, making it much easier to eat.

Fragrant pot rice for two at Appa Jjim

Fragrant pot rice for two, for my rice-obsessed parents~! My brother and I decided to have fried rice instead, so we only ordered two servings. Maybe it's the suhyangmi rice variety, but it has a subtle sweet aroma, and eaten plain, the rice has great chewiness and a gentle sweetness.

How the braised pollock with dried radish greens tastes, and how spicy it really is

The braised pollock arrives fully prepped~! While they were prepping the pollock, the crispy seafood pancake came out. Since we ordered it with dried radish greens, there's a huge pile of them underneath.

Piling thick flakes of pollock onto rice and wrapping it up~😋 The spice level wasn't extremely hot, just a pleasantly spicy kick, so even my mom and brother, who can't handle spicy food, ate it happily. They said it was spicy at first but kept reaching for more anyway. The spice level felt like somewhere between Shin Ramyun and Yeul Ramyun, I'd say?

Besides the radish greens and pollock, there's rice cake, tofu, and hefty chunks of radish in there too, and if it gets too spicy, you can just eat it with the bean sprouts. For me and my dad, who both love spicy food, it wasn't spicy at all, more like a pleasant tang, and my dad really put it away. If I'd known he'd eat that much, I would've ordered three servings of rice,,haha

Crispy seafood pancake, fried rice and scorched-rice tea

The crispy seafood pancake should probably be renamed the 'shatteringly crispy seafood pancake.' It's loaded generously with all kinds of vegetables, squid, and shrimp, and the batter is minimal, giving it a crackly, crispy texture. The savory oil from the crispy-fried seafood pancake meets a slightly tangy sauce that cuts right through any greasiness. You absolutely have to dip the seafood pancake in the pollock sauce!

The fried rice comes out stir-fried with a measured amount of the sauce scooped in. If I'd known that, I would've ordered it from the start to eat together!

The fried rice was a touch bland for my taste, but actually that worked in its favor — mixed with the pollock sauce, topped with flakes of pollock, eaten alongside the well-seasoned radish, and mixed into the sauce, the seasoning ended up landing just right.

Scorched-rice tea made by pouring hot water into the leftover pot rice! It was the perfect palate cleanser to finish with. Maybe because the rice is good quality, the scorched-rice tea was wonderfully nutty and delicious~

Restroom amenities and dessert at Appa Jjim

The women's restroom has mouthwash, hair ties, and dental floss, so no worries for your next date here~~

And the real, real, real dessert! Ice cream is only ₩1,000, and there's vending machine coffee at the entrance. They also sell salted crab and run a KakaoTalk coupon bonus event, so visiting often to stack up coupons seems worthwhile~!

My parents said they ate so well and were completely satisfied, and even my brother, who used to say he wasn't into braised pollock, cleaned his plate — Appa Jjim, a braised pollock spot in Hanam! I'd highly recommend it as a meal after a day out in Hanam. Next time I've got to try the braised monkfish or seafood stew~~